I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fuel injector assembly for internal combustion engines.
II. Description of Related Art
Many modern internal combustion engines of the type used in automotive vehicles utilize fuel injectors for injecting fuel into the internal combustion chambers. For example, in a direct injection internal combustion engine, a discharge end of the fuel injector is open directly to the internal combustion chamber.
In order to overcome the high pressures present within the internal combustion engine and still obtain adequate injection of the fuel for direct injection engines, these previously known fuel injection systems typically included a fuel rail which is pressurized with relatively high pressure fuel. A fuel cup was then fluidly connected to the fuel rail for each fuel injector.
An elongated fuel injector is associated with each cup and each fuel injector includes a fuel inlet end as well as a fuel outlet end. The fuel inlet end is axially inserted into a cavity in its associated fuel cup and the fuel injector and cup are then locked together. Conventionally, a locking clip was utilized to lock the fuel cup and its associated fuel injector together.
These previously known fuel clips, however, have not proven wholly satisfactory in operation. In particular, these previously known injector clips are not only relatively expensive in material, labor, and manufacturing costs, but may also permit the fuel injector to separate from its associated fuel cup if improperly installed. Such separation can result in failure of the entire fuel system.